ENERGY: Oil and gas industry bracing for drilling restrictions if Biden wins
Former Vice President Joe Biden, who won the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday night, has pledged to stop new drilling on federal lands and waters to address growing concerns over climate change, a move that would have sweeping consequences for the nation’s oil and gas industry largely concentrated in Texas.
Proponents say a drilling ban on federal property would help combat climate change and protect the environment. Opponents fear a ban could cost thousands more industry jobs and threaten U.S. energy independence.
“We think the most important second-halfof-2020 narrative for the (energy sector) is the loom
whether they will vote at all.
“Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job, because he can’t,” Obama said, growing emotional at points as he talked about the challenges facing the country and democracy. “The consequences of that failure are severe. 170,000 Americans dead. Millions of jobs gone.”
A day after nominating Joe Biden, a 77-year-old fixture of Washington establishment politics, Democrats tried to make the case that while Biden would be one kind of change agent — a repudiation of Trumpism — Harris would help steer the party in new directions and reflect a changing America.
Speeches by Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Speaker Nancy Pelosi were intended to underscore the history-making moment of Harris’ nomination, highlighting Harris’ uniquely American biography: A child of immigrants and a graduate of a historically Black university, she is one of the few women of color elected to the U.S. Senate.
“We’re at an inflection point,” Harris said as she formally accepted the nomination. “The constant chaos leaves us adrift. The incompetence makes us feel afraid. The callousness makes us feel alone.
“We can do better and deserve so much more. We must elect a president who will bring something different, something better and do the important work.”
Far more than the two previous nights, which centered on testimonials to Biden’s character and empathy, the program focused on policy, addressing issues like gun violence, climate change, affordable child care and immigration. In videos, activists promoted Biden’s plans to tackle a warming planet, and survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence reminded viewers of his role in crafting the Violence Against Women Act. The
American child of a deported mother begged the president to reunite families torn apart by his immigration policy.
In perhaps the most policyheavy speech of the evening, Warren, speaking from an early childhood learning center in her home state of Massachusetts, praised Biden’s “real good plans.” She highlighted his proposals to make child care more affordable, to provide universal preschool and to raise wages for child care workers.
The third night of the Democratic National Convention, conducted virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, was a tribute to the constituencies that have driven the party’s rise during the Trump administration — women, minority voters, and young voters. While Harris was the evening’s main attraction, the program featured remarks from several of the most powerful women in the party, as well as Spanish-language speakers, victims of gun violence and everyday Americans meant to represent marginalized slices of the electorate.
Reflecting a country changed by crisis and a party desperate to oust an incumbent president, Obama offered a grim warning about the durability of American democracy.
“This president and those in power — those who benefit from keeping things the way they are — they are counting on your cynicism,” Obama said, addressing voters. “They know they can’t win you over with their policies. So they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter. That’s how they win.”
He said the effects of the coronavirus crisis had made clear the stakes of stable leadership, and he cited the American deaths from
the virus that Trump has rarely acknowledged. He also alluded to some of Trump’s most controversial moments, saying his actions had eroded America’s standing throughout the world.
Obama delivered his remarks from the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, in a room with the U.S. Constitution displayed on its walls.
“Do not let them take away your power,” Obama said. “Do not let them take away your democracy.”
The evening opened with a surprise appearance by Harris, who welcomed the audience along with Kerry Washington, the third Hollywood actress to assume emcee duties this week.
In her acceptance speech, Harris, 55, wove her personal story with policies that she said would improve the lives of all Americans “to achieve the future we collectively want.” Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, said her experiences would ensure that the perspective of people long marginalized in America — African Americans, Asian Americans, women, first-generation residents — would have a voice at the highest levels of Biden’s administration.
She said she was committed to “a vision of our nation as a beloved community — where all are welcome, no matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we love.”
Clinton made the case for Biden and Harris as a dual package offering policy and empathy, saying they could move the country forward in areas such as housing and health care. She noted that Harris would face attacks as a woman on the national ticket, but added, “I know something about the slings and arrows she’ll face, and believe me, this former district attorney and attorney general can handle them all.”
Making an urgent plea for Americans to turn out for this election, Clinton said: “This can’t be another woulda, coulda, shoulda election. No matter what, vote. Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line — because they are.”